Finding the right gaming keyboard is essential for any PC gamer. You don’t always have to pay a premium price to get a good one, so we are going to give you a helping hand to find the keyboard suiting your budget. Let’s see what’s on the market;

Budget | Razer Blackwidow Tournament Edition | RRP $79.99/£69.99

The Razer Blackwidow Tournament Edition boasts amazing responsiveness with its Cherry MX Red mechanically switched keyboard that will offer you an “Entirely new feel to your gaming Experience.” The keys require lightweight touches and have an actuation distance of a tiny 2mm. They claim that you are only limited to how quick your fingers are.

The RBTE is also stripped back to make it portable for on the move and can easily be stowed away without taking up huge amounts of room. To achieve the portability they have removed the number pad and the USB cable is detachable and can be packed into its provided protective sleeve. The compactness is great for people that go to a lot of LAN parties and tournaments.

10-key rollover is possible and each key will register accurately and quickly during gaming. This will ensure that you’re not let down by anything but your own abilities.

The Blackwidow is durable and compact but the size comes at a price, less functionality.

Mid-Range | Corsair Vengeance K90 | $129.99/£100

The K90 offers huge value and functionality at a great price. It will come with Cherry MX Red mechanical switches, anti-ghosting technology and 20-key rollover on USB. This means that you have maximum control and a “blazing fast” button response time of 1ms.

You will not be short of macros as you can record up to 54 into 3 different pools across the 18 fully customisable G keys. Macros can also be created easily on the go by pressing the MR button, the combination of key presses you would like recorded and then the desired G key you would like the macro stored to. Simple.

The K90 will also will have USB pass-through and a soft touch wrist rest. It will also sport a brushed aluminium look and be back lit with blue LED’s with 4 variants of brightness.

With a crazy amount of macro recordings, good durability and responsive buttons you will not feel short changed if you buy this.

Top-Range | Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 | $299.99/£249.99

The Strike 7 is the must have keyboard. It’s highly customisable and come with 7 different modules that you can chop and change to suit you. The 3 wrist rests are all adjustable with the left rest containing a scroll bar and a button which can be controlled with your thumb. The back lit buttons can be lit up with your desired colour (16 million variants) or (if you prefer) no back light at all. The Strike 7 is truly one of the most customisable gaming keyboards on the market.

The little LCD screen sitting proudly above the keyboard adds extra functions to a keyboard already bursting at the seams with functionality. You can also programme 72 different macros and change the style and feel of the WASD buttons with interchangeable options.

The Strike 7 covers all bases with huge customisation options, lots of macros and a robust build and design. Not only will this keep the hardcore PC gamer happy, it’ll be suitable on any genre they decide to play.